The Chaos Within

It's everywhere, I'm convinced. I've seen it in couples. Families. Organizations. Churches. Anything that involves people. The outward/inward thing. On the outside a couple appears fine. But on the inside they are on step number 4 towards divorce (and there are only 5 steps). Families - there used to be birthday celebrations and fish frys, but now they are lucky if the family even gets together for Christmas anymore. Organizations - the numbers are up and everything looks great...but soon, the inward office turmoil that was successfully kept secret for 2.5 years seeps out and things sink quick. Churches - lots of good smiles on Sunday morning and lots of people in place...everybody doing their thing...but inwardly some staff member or volunteer is on the brink of disaster and nobody knows it.

It's the chaos within.

Not sure why this phrase popped in my head. Thinks are surprisingly calm in my world right now...but I'm up late thinking about the turmoil that people go through each day. And I think about the question my great wife thinks about whenever we face trials of our own: "How in the world does anyone go through these tough times without Christ? I don't see how they make it."

And while I think about these different life situations, all sharing the same common bond of inward chaos, I immediately think of this verse:

"He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together." Col 1:17 (read whole chapter HERE)

Since He is the Creator of all things, He is also the Sustainer of all things. And He is the peace of the inward chaos. He is the hope of the inward one day matching the outward. He is the one to cling to. The One to never give up on - He's certainly not given up on you. The One that when your life is surrendered to Him, all things become new and the inward stands a chance now...after all, it is free.

He is Jesus.